Published: Friday, 25th April, 2008 9:00am

Cardrona still offline with no broadband

by David Knox

CARDRONA remains cut off from the high-speed world of broadband.

And local politicians and civil servants have vowed to take up the online fight with communications watchdog Ofcom.

Almost all of the 350 households in the Tweed Valley village are online - but their connections are around 32 times slower than neighbours in Peebles and the vast majority of the UK.

And around 30 properties in and around the village still have no access to broadband at all.

A lively meeting was held in the village last Wednesday - which was organized by MP David Mundell - and included representatives from British Telecom.

But the telephone giant won"t be doing any upgrades just yet.

Mr Mundell told the Peeblesshire News: 'The BT representatives stated there were no current technologies which allow the signals to be boosted on the existing cable and they dismissed the possibility of any sort of exchange in Cardrona itself.

'There were discussions about wireless and satellite solutions but there were mixed views in the audience about previous use of such systems.

'Obviously there was considerable discussion around the fact as to why BT was able to charge customers for a service which was not being delivered and I certainly felt they had no answer on that point.'

BT bosses claim it would cost around £500,000 to bring modern broadband speed to the village, which would involve shortening the line between Innerleithen and the village.

And they made it clear during the meeting that they aren"t willing to splash the cash.

Cardrona campaigner Brian McCrow told us: 'Almost everyone in the village has computers and is paying for broadband, but it is so slow sometimes it doesn"t work at all.

Suggestions for developers to contribute towards upgrading the phone lines were made during the meeting.

And Mr Mundell said he would take the issues to regulator Ofcom in a bid to twist the arm of British Telecom.

A spokeswoman for BT said: 'BT does not charge its customers for a service that it cannot provide. Broadband will only be provided if a stable rate can be identified on any given line.

'Typically, this may range from 0.5Mb to 8Mb, but if a stable rate of less than this is available - for instance 0.25Mb - it may be provided with the agreement of the customer. BT Retail makes no charge for additional speed beyond the minimum.

'Cardrona's broadband provision is via Innerleithen exchange and the issue of distance from the exchange is a significant factor affecting both broadband speed and provision.

'BT Group and its access network business Openreach have considered, at length, all the various technical options which would be likely to improve broadband service in Cardrona. Any upgrade would cost upwards of £500,000 and currently a commercial case does not exist to make such an investment viable.'

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